Ice and Fire
by KurenoxArisaxx
Summary: (Based off anime) When Rikuo is trapped inside a burning building after a battle, Tsurara goes in to rescue her master. However, she's a Yuki Onna. Things can only end badly for the lovesick snow spirit.


**_Disclaimer: Nurarihyon no Mago and its characters belongs to the _**_**Hiroshi Shiibashi**_

**_Also, to those who read my first fic for this series, I am planning to write a sequel for Rikuo and Tsurara after they get married. It will be multiple chapters, and I'm going to wait until I read the entire manga to write it, because I don't want to mess up any facts and I want it to be like an after story for the series. I'll give one spoiler for the fic now though: Rikuo will have children in the fic I'm planning. And with Tsurara, since she will be his wife. But like I said, I'll wait until I read the manga, which may be a while. So for fellow RiTsu fans who liked my first fic, I hope you'll look forward to it. For now, please enjoy more one-shots for the adorable couples of this series. _**

**_Also, honestly, I took the idea for this fic from something I saw happen while reading the manga Demon Love Spell. A snow spirit went into a burning house to save his love and ended up melting because of the intense heat. He died happy because he could protect his love in the end. I thought it was so sweet and heart-wrenching. The whole snow spirit thing made me think of Tsurara for obvious reasons so thus, this fic of feels.  
_**

**_Forgive any mistakes I made for facts on the yokai Bishamonten in this. I needed an enemy that could use fire so I took the demon from one of the Persona game series since all the personas in the games are mythological creatures or demons. I probably messed up somewhere along the lines in this but please bare with it and enjoy the story anyways._**

**_Unfortunately, this fic was actually much harder to write than I thought it would be. As a result, I guarentee most of the parts towards the end won't make hardly any sense. And I'm sure I'm gonna get bitched at about that. I swear, this fic would have been easier to write if I would have just wrote the original ending I was planning instead of coming up with a new one. Oh well...I still pray you all enjoyed this fic a little bit and please leave a review to tell me what you thought._**

* * *

"Master Rikuo...!" Tsurara could feel her heart racing at intense speed as she watched a clashing of orange, red, and yellow rise up from a broken building in front of her. Panic was tearing the poor girl apart from the inside. Everything had happened so fast. The snow yokai was confused and terrified, and to make matters worst, all alone.

That day had started off normally. Like usual, she and Aotabo walked Master Rikuo to school. Afterwards, there had been yet another annoying meeting for the Paranormal Control Group created by Rikuo's classmates. Once that had ended, the yokai and their leader had decided to head home. However, things began to grow progressively worst from the moment Aotabo had stopped their group on the way home.

**_~Flashback~_**

_"What's the matter, Ao?" Nurarihyon's grandson turned around to look at the giant who seemed to be distracted by something to the east. When his bodyguard didn't answer, Rikuo gave the yokai a light kick to the knee._

_"Ah. Oh, sorry, Master." Ao rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably as he turned his head back to the previous direction, "I just remembered I was told to meet Kuro right after school ended."_

_Tsurara turned to her companion with an excited smile, "Really? Then you should go, Ao! Don't you worry," Without so much as a warning to her master, Tsurara rapped her hands around Rikuo's arm lovingly, causing the teen to turn a light pink, "I can walk Master home. No big deal."_

_At first, Aotabo was reluctant. He recalled the many times in the past when Tsurara had let Rikuo wander off on his own or when she had passed out while in the midst of protecting him. Tsurara declared such times as 'bad days for her' and assured her fellow protector that she would make sure Rikuo made it back to the clan house safe._

_After a brief amount of deep thought, Aotabo decided to trust in the Yuki Onna and bid his friends goodbye. Tsurara secretly patted herself on the back as the two started on their way home.  
_

_'Yes! Time alone with Master Rikuo. Just the two of us.' The girl giggled to herself as she glanced over to catch sight of Rikuo's calm face. _

_Things had remained fine for a good ten minutes after the couple had separated from the strong demon. However, everything changed when Yuki Onna felt a presence behind them._

_"Master Rikuo, please step back."_

_Said boy frowned in confusion as he gave the beautiful girl a look, "Is something wrong?"_

_Tsurara threw herself in front of Rikuo and created a scythe made of ice, "Someone seems to have been following us."_

_Before Rikuo and Tsurara stood what appeared to be a normal human teenager; dressed in jeans and a black hoodie, covering their face. Suddenly, the hoodie ripped from the instantaneous increase in the creature's body. Before the two knew it, the so called "teenager" was the size of a shrine temple. The yokai appeared to be a demon known as _Bishamonten._ It's appearance was similar to Buddha. However, it wore armor and carried a tall spear. It's face seemed to remain one expression, with showed the feeling of hatred._

_"A yokai." Rikuo looked at the sun that was setting and cursed at the fact that it was too early for him to transform into his night form. _

_"Don't worry, Master. I will take down this yokai quickly so we can return home without any more delay." With that said, Tsurara launched herself at the yokai. The two proceeded to fight, and almost seemed evenly matched after five minutes of repetitive hits and dodges.  
_

_Tired of the fighting, Yuki Onna distanced herself from the large demon and decided to ask the question that she had been itching to ask since the start of battle.  
_

_"Why have you been following us?"  
_

_The demon smirked, glad she had finally asked his reason, "Shouldn't it be obvious by now, pathetic snow spirit? I've come to kill your precious third heir."_

_Tsurara wasn't surprised. It wasn't like this was the first assassination attempt on her master. Even so, she'd be damned if she'd let a mere lower class demon such as a __Bishamonten hurt Rikuo._

_"I won't let you lay a finger on him!" With that, the battle proceeded. But this time, it seemed there was a change in the enemy's battle strategy. _

_"I don't have any more time to play with you. My friends told me if I were to kill the third heir, I'd have to do it in his filthy human form, when he is most weak. Now get out of my way, wench!" With a flick of his wrist, the demon sent Tsurara flying into a stone well. _

_Rikuo's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the injured Yuki Onna,_

_"Tsurara!" Rikuo felt the air instantly fly out of him when he was grabbed up by the enemy. Suddenly, Rihan's son began to feel his body being tightened by the intense grip of the ghoul yokai.  
_

_Yuki Onna, who painfully laid in a pile of rubble, opened her eyes to the terrible sight. Gasping, Tsurara scooped up her scythe and launched herself at the monster._

_"Let him go, you bastard!" Slicing the weapon's blade into the yokai's wrist, Tsurara only watched as Rikuo fell down into a small building that was too the side. The winter incarnation screamed and was about to run over to help her master but was snatched up by her ankles by the infuriated __Bishamonten.  
_

_"You scum. I told you not to get in my way!" The enemy yokai threw Tsurara into the ground hard, causing the already injured girl to spit up a little blood. The yokai looked over to see that the sun had nearly set. Bishamonten recalled the warning he had got from a demon friend and cursed at his luck.  
_

_"Damn, I don't have much time left." __Bishamonten frowned in panic a moment before realizing something that could work to his advantage. The fact that Rikuo hadn't yet come out of the building could be just the bit of luck the demon needed. Grinning evilly, the non-human chanted something and summoned fire into his hand. _

_Tsurara moaned painfully as she crawled out of the hole that had been made by her body. Her yellow orbs widened to the size of watermelons when she saw the demon throw something bright at the building Rikuo was in._

_Before the Yuki Onna knew it, the building had erupted in flames. She could hear the sound of the rooms inside already collapsing and smoke crackling. Tsurara looked up to the yokai with horror and anger painted on her face._

_Bishamonten simply laughed at this,_

_"Now you're third heir is a goner. He has no way of getting out of the building now and since you're a snow spirit, you can't go inside to save him."_

_"No...Master Rikuo!" Tsurara was about to storm into the building when she felt the heat from the inside clash with her cold skin. She jumped back, instantly feeling sick by the opposite element she detested._

_"Ha ha! In the end, I won. The third heir is as good as dead. Later, wench!" At that, the enemy vanished, leaving Tsurara all alone in a state of panic outside the burning building._

**_~End Flashback~_**

"What should I do? The Master..." Yuki Onna looked around in every direction, as if she hoped to find the answer. The girl felt her heart clench tightly when she realized there was no one else around to help. Tsurara's yellow eyes looked back to the burning building. She could already feel her skin start to melt like snow from the heat radiating from the fire. Heat was the snow yokai's natural enemy. She couldn't barely stand the heat of summer, let alone a fire. Still, if something wasn't done fast, Rikuo would surely burn to death.

Rikuo's servant bit her lip hard as she thought about such a terrible possibility. Tsurara could not let Rikuo die. She had promised Aotabo and the rest of the clan that she'd always protect him when she was around. To add to that, she cared deeply for him. She loved him. How could she just let him die just because she was afraid of a little heat? She was his servant, his bodyguard. She had failed to protect him from the enemy yokai but she could still save him from death.

Taking a deep breath, Yuki Onna began tearing away at her kimono. Ripping both her sleeves off as well as the rest of her kimono from her knees down, Tsurara looked back at the fire intensely. The orange of the flames mixed with the yellow of her orbs, clashing like the sunset setting on the horizon in the distance. Pulling her beautiful blue hair back with part of her kimono's cloth to serve as a hair tie, Tsurara swallowed her building up fear.

"...For Master Rikuo." At that, the Yuki Onna charged towards the flame-engulfed building.

* * *

"What do you mean you attacked our Master?!" Kurotabou aka the assassin monk, gripped the yokai's throat as hard as he possibly could.

The yokai, who appeared to be a Bishamonten, twisted and turned painfully in the handsome fighter's grip. Again, he cursed at his luck. Of all the directions he had gone after his fight, it had to lead him right to two servants of Rikuo Nura. He had simply been walking by when two men had jumped in his path, claiming they sensed their Master's scent on him.

"T-That's right...I attacked him and that female that was with him. They're both as good as dead-"

"I knew I had smelled Master Rikuo's scent on you. Bastard!" Aotabo snatched the demon from Kuro and activated his fear. The foolish yokai was caught up in it almost instantly.

"Now give us a straight answer," Kuro began from beside Ao, "When you left our Master, what was his condition? If you badly injured him, we'll torture you-"

"He...was trapped inside an old building that I set on fire..." Bishamonten had no time to scream when Aotabo reached out and tore his head clean off. Kuro simply looked in the direction they had seen the demon come from.

"Do you think you'd know where they are, Ao?"

The large demon nodded, "Yeah. They're on the same path we always take when we walk the Master home from school."

At that, the men took off as fast as they could; praying they would get to their Master before it was too late.

* * *

"Up there!" Aotabo pointed at the smoke that seemed to be from coming over an oncoming hill.

"Yes, I sense the Master's presence." Kuro increased his speed and slid to a stop in front of the directed building. Most of the structure had collapsed from the fire by now. The flames were as tall as ever and the smoke made the air around the two male yokai sick.

"We have to get inside to help Master-"

"Wait, Ao!" Kuro grabbed his friend by the sleeve and looked down at something laying at their feet, "There's a piece of cloth..." Leaning down, the monk picked up it up. In only took a second for the cloth to register in Kuro's brain.

"Wait, this...this is a part of Yuki Onna's kimono, is it not?"

Aotabo examined the cloth closely and nodded, "Yeah, I-"

Then it hit both men like a ton of bricks.

Kurotabou and Aotabo felt their stomachs do summer salts at realizing what the cloth meant.

"Yuki Onna went inside..." Aotabo swallowed, trying to keep himself calm but failing, "T-There's no where she'd..."

"She's a snow spirit...We both know what it means if she went inside there after the Master. Come on, we have to find the Master, just in case Yuki Onna couldn't reach him." Kuro ran towards the building without another word.

* * *

"Master..." Inside, Tsurara stumbled about the broken floorboards and flames erupting from the wood. The girl's efforts to find her Master had been totally useless. She had searched inside the building for a good five minutes and she had still not found him. By now, the Yuki Onna felt sicker than she ever had in her entire life. The heat ate away at her like a beast searching for food. Tsurara was sure she wouldn't last much longer. Even if she left now, the snow spirit was sure to melt and die as soon as she took one step outside the fire.

But she couldn't give up and leave without Rikuo. She had already decided. Tsurara swore she'd at least get Rikuo out of the building before she died. That would be her last duty as his servant. She had to at least get him to an exit before she turned to water. However, that promise was becoming extremely hard to keep.

"Ahh!" Tsurara felt a flame rip away at her ankle. She felt her flesh instantly melt from the bone and she fell to her knees in agony. Through blurry vision, the girl tried to look around the room she was in. Just like before, she saw no clue as to where Rikuo could be.

As more flames multiplied and ate away at the ice yokai's bare arms and legs, Tsurara forced her body back up and continued on. More of her skin melted from her cheeks and made small splashes on the floor. Things were becoming far worst now. Tsurara estimated she only had a couple minutes left before she would completely melt. That wouldn't do. She HAD to find Rikuo, no matter what.

"I'm the...only one...who can..." Fire suddenly rose up from the floor, pushing Tsurara back. The girl fell backwards in stunned silence. All she knew as she dropped to the floor was the intense warmth of the flames crashing against her back, burning away at what was left of her kimono and skin. The Yuki Onna felt all her energy drain away from her almost instantly. Laying on the burning floor, Tsurara looked to the side at the flames that was ready to devour her. Her eyes shined like the sun at the cruel fate that was approaching her.

"Dammit...Master..." Tsurara lifted her melting away arm to her face and rested her hand over her wet eyes, "I...failed...Forgive me..."

The image of smiling Rikuo flashed in the servant's mind. Human Rikuo stared back at her for a moment before he transformed into his more handsome, adoring night form. Tsurara could help but smile at the fading image. She adored Rikuo's happy nature and smile more than anything else. She loved it even more than the winter and ice that she felt so connected to. She had vowed to always protect Rikuo, even if it killed her. But in the end, had she really failed? Like herself, would Rikuo also die away in the flames like this?

Tsurara felt her focus go as her eyes began to shut slowly. Just as she was about to completely lose consciousness for the last time, a shadow appeared above the Yuki Onna. The woman's eyes shot open at the person standing over her.

"M-Master Rikuo?!" Tsurara could only stare in awe at Rikuo, who had transformed into his yokai form. Tsurara silently thanked the fact that night must have come early that day.

Rikuo's eyes were the size of specks as he stared down in guilt at the half-melted away ice apparition. His expression was one of utter shock. He had never expected Yuki Onna, of all people, to come in to such a place, even if it was after him.

"Tsurara, why..." But the man stopped when he noticed just how much of the girl's body had liquified. Letting out a terrible line of swears, Rikuo scooped up the woman and tried to run towards the nearest exit that was growing out of sight thanks to the falling debris.

Tsurara, though on the verge of death, smiled warmly up at Rikuo. She had gone inside to save him, but in the end, it was Rikuo who was trying to rescue her.

"Master, I failed you. I'm so sorry."

Rikuo, who was partially distracted by his desperate attempt to find an exit fast, didn't bother to look at Tsurara, "Don't waste your energy talking. We'll get out of here, I promise."

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out from the flames surrounding the couple.

"Master, are you there?"

Rikuo's red orbs widened, "Kuro?"

On cue, the assassin monk appeared in front of Rikuo. A relieved smile painted itself on Kurotabou's face when he saw his leader was unharmed,

"Thank goodness you're okay, Master. We-"

"Never mind that. We have to get Tsurara out of here!"

Kuro looked to the half-dead Tsurara and frowned darkly. He knew the inevitability that was coming. But he didn't dare tell Rikuo. Not now. The main objective was to get out of the building before the structure completely collapsed. As such, Kuro began leading Rikuo to where he had entered. To Rikuo's surprise, the entrance had somehow remained unblocked.

Kuro pointed at the doorway, pushing his leader towards it, "Here. Hurry, Master!"

Sliding around Kuro, Rikuo pushed his way out through the doorway. Coughing hard from the smoke in his lungs, Rikuo stumbled only ten feet outside before he fell to the ground. Ao, who had remained outside the entire time, ran over to the third heir in concern.

"Master, are you-"

"Tsurara...we have to do something..." Rikuo forced himself to sit up and laid the melting girl on the ground, "I don't know how long she was in there but her skin is...it's melting. No, not just her skin, everything. Ao, we have to do something before she dies...!"

Aotabo frowned sadly at his Master before exchanging looks with Kurotabou. The powerful yokai could see in Kuro's eyes that there was no hope for Yuki Onna now.

"Master, I'm afraid...that there's no way to save her."

Rikuo shot a dis-believable look at his long-haired comrade, "What? Don't say that, Kuro. If we just-"

"Master Rikuo, when we got here, she had already gone inside. That means she must have been in there for at least a good five to ten minutes." Kuro looked down sadly at Tsurara who was slowly fading away, "She's a Yuki Onna. If a snow spirit ever comes into contact with heat, they melt. Just like the snow that they represent."

The third heir looked back to Tsurara. Her skin was even more pale than usual. Her body no longer felt ice cold, but hot like the burner on a stove. Her kimono was torn and her hair was a mess. Most of Tsurara's skin had melted away or turned to liquid. Feeling her skin, Rikuo could feel the rest of her body still melting, though the process was slower than before.

What Kurotabou was saying was true. Tsurara was dying.

"No...she's a member of my night parade and part of our family. I can't just let her die..." Rikuo began shaking Yuki Onna in hopes she would open her eyes, if only for a moment, "She can't die. She went inside a place surrounded by fire, her worst fear, because she wanted to protect me...I can't just let her..."

Kuro lowered his hat so part of it was covering his eyes. Aotabo turned away, looking at the ground in regret for leaving the couple earlier.

"Tsurara. Tsurara, answer me!" Nurarihyon's grandson continued to shake Tsurara, praying it would do something. However, Rikuo stopped shaking when he caught sight of the look on Yuki Onna's face.

The look of pain. Though Tsurara had passed out, the battle between life and death for Tsurara was truly a painful one. Even in unconsciousness, Tsurara's entire body had remained in total agony.

A few drops of rain fell from the dark, night sky. Kuro looked up only to see more rain fall, until the rain turned into a hard downpour. The assassin monk turned to Aotabou after hearing a curse slip from his lips.

"Ao?"

Said man connected his fist into the pavement, making an large imprint, "This is all my fault. If I hadn't left those two...If I had just walked with them home, like usual...Yuki Onna..."

Kurotabou silently sighed, placing a reassuring hand on his friend's broad shoulder, "There is no reason to blame yourself. You couldn't have known this would happen. I should apologize for asking you to meet met right after Master's school let out." Kuro turned back to Rikuo who seemed to still be trying to wake Tsurara up, "It won't be long now. This rain will wash the rest of her body away..."

"Dammit...Dammit, wake up." Bringing Tsurara's body close to his, Rikuo tightly hugged onto the girl he had known his entire life. He could feel her entire body literally slipping through his fingers.

How could he have let such a thing happen? If he had just fought with the demon in Yuki Onna's place, then perhaps none of this would have happened. If it weren't for Rikuo allowing that monster to through him into that building, Tsurara wouldn't have had to to run in to save him. She wouldn't have had to struggle so hard, in the one element she hated. She wouldn't have had to feel all that pain as her body melted away. If Rikuo could have just fought, Yuki Onna would be perfectly fine.

"Tsurara...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." Immediately, Rikuo felt all the air go out of him for an unknown reason. Pulling Tsurara's body out of the embrace, he studied her, slightly confused.

Seeing their Master distressed, Kuro and Ao walked to him and leaned down.

Kuro repeated his earlier actions on Rikuo, and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Master?" The man's ocean colored orbs flinched when he felt how bad Rikuo was trembling. The extensive-weapon user turned to Aotabo with a stern look,

"Ao, go back to the clan house and ask Karasu Tengu and the trio to come. We're going to need some assistance in getting the Master and Yuki Onna home."

Aotabo nodded and was about to run off but his body seemed to freeze on its on when he heard something come from Rikuo. Unsure if he had misheard his Master, Ao turned his head to look at Kuro who also seemed to be somewhat stricken by what Rikuo had mumbled.

"Master, could you repeat that?" Kuro felt sweat pouring down his face in sync with the falling rain. He knew what Rikuo had just said, but he honestly didn't want to believe it.

"Yuki Onna...Tsurara's heartbeat..." Rikuo looked to the members of his night parade with a more fearful expression then the two men had ever seen him wear in his whole life, "It's gone. Her heart stopped."

A large bolt of lightning flashed in the background, lighting up the the regretful expressions of all three men.

* * *

_**~xXx~**_

"Rikuo? Rikuo, sweetheart, your grandfather wants to talk to you." Wakana Nura knocked on the door of her son's bedroom in which he had been residing in since he and the others had returned home an hour ago.

News of the attack on Rikuo and Yuki Onna traveled quickly once Aotabo had stormed into the clan house, demanding for Karasu Tengu's help. After some time, Rikuo returned home with Kurotabou and Aotabo, with Tsurara in his arms. At first glance at the men, Wakana could tell something tragic had happened. Rikuo had bruises all over his body, and he reeked of smoke and ashes. Then, the terrible truth about the beloved Yuki Onna was revealed. About how there had been a fight leading up to a fire in which Tsurara went right into the heart of in order to rescue Rikuo from death. In the end, it was the loving snow spirit, that had lost her life.

After his wounds were bandaged and he got a new change of clothes, a lifeless looking Rikuo marched into his room and locked himself inside without saying another word to anyone. Kuro and Ao explained everything else to the rest of the night parade and showed what was left of Tsurara's body. It was surprising to the clan that not all of Tsurara had melted away. Somehow her head, shoulders, torso, and most of her left body was still somewhat solid. It was speculated that the rain caused her body temperature to cool down some, saving the rest of herself from melting away. Still, it's not as if it mattered. Tsurara was dead. And that was the undeniable and sad truth.

Wakana was about to knock on the door again, when she had her wrist grabbed by someone. Rikuo's mother turned to see Nurarihyon at her side, looking up at her with a mournful expression.

"Let me handle this, Wakana."

Rihan's wife nodded and looked back at the shut door. She was about to something but stopped when she noticed her vision become blurry and stormed off down the hall. Nurarihyon sighed, deciding he would get over what had to be done.

In a matter of three seconds, Nurarihyon kicked the entire door to Rikuo's room down. Inside, his grandchild didn't so much as a flinch when the door fell with a loud thud.

"Rikuo."

Nurarihyon walked into the room and turned on the light so he could see better. It was no surprise to see Rikuo sitting on his futon, with his back to his grandfather. The elder Supreme Commander sighed and took a seat beside Rikuo on the floor. Looking over, Nurarihyon attempted to get a look at the teenager's face, which proved to be impossible. Rikuo had one knee risen, and buried his head into it.

"Rikuo, take it from an old man like me. I know how hard it is to lose a member of one's night parade. You remembered what happened to Hihi. He had been a long-time member of my parade and the Nura clan. He had also been a friend for many, many years. When he was killed by the Shikoku Yokai, I..." Nurarihyon shut his eyes a moment, seeing his old friend's masked face in his mind.

"I don't need a lecture, old man..." Was all Rikuo responded before turning even more away from his grandfather.

Nurarihyon half-smirked and looked at Rikuo with sympathetic eyes, "I wasn't trying to lecture you, Rikuo. All's I'm saying is you're not alone in this. Everyone else here feels just as torn up about Yuki Onna's dea-"

"You don't get it, Gramps. No one can feel as bad about this as I do."

When Nurarihyon noticed Rikuo slightly raise his head, he decided this was his chance to get Rikuo to spill his guts instead of keeping it all bottled up,

"What do you mean, Rikuo?"

"It's my fault she's dead. She died trying to save my sorry ass!" Rikuo jumped up from his futon and spun around so he was looking Nurarihyon straight in the face.

"Rikuo, it was not-"

"You weren't there, old man!" Rihan's son turned his back to the Nura Clan leader once again and began pacing back and forth like a crazy person, "If I hadn't been so weak...If I had just dodged that damned yokai's attack and stayed away from that building..."

Nurarihyon flinched when he spotted something fall from Rikuo's cheeks. The usual calm man's eyes widened a fraction at this.

Rikuo looked over to a small table that was set beside his bed. On it was a piece of Yuki Onna's kimono he had found after he got out of the fire. Walking over, the quarter yokai picked it up and stared at it. Somehow, the cloth still felt as cold as Tsurara had been before she stormed into the burning building. Rikuo clenched the cloth tightly in his hands until small drops of blood was seeping from his broken skin.

Nurarihyon rose from his seat when he noticed the glimmering in Rikuo's crimson orbs. He remembered when he himself held such a look in his lifetime. While his grandson did not realize it, Nurarihyon knew exactly how Rikuo felt.

"Rikuo." Nurarihyon waited for said boy to look at him before continuing, "Do you remember the stories I used to tell you about your late grandmother, Yohime?"

Rikuo simply nodded in silence, unsure where his grandfather planned to go with this.

Nurarihyon forced a smile as he noticed the cloth in Rikuo's hand. The elder yokai lowered his head and took a deep breath. The Yohime card was the last thing Nurarihyon wanted to use as a way of comforting Rikuo, but now it seemed it was his only chance at doing so.

"I met Yohime 400 years ago. I was attracted to her from the moment I saw her."

"Yes, Gramps, I know. You've only told me a million times about how you spirited her away from her home and showed her the Nura clan's lifestyle. After rescuing her from one of Hagaromo Gitsune's incarnations, you two married and had Father some time later." Rikuo's voice was emotionless and dark. Honestly, he didn't wish to hear another one of his grandfather's lengthy stories right now. He was already tired enough from what had happened earlier that day.

The Supreme Commander of the Nura clan snorted in irritation, "You didn't let me finish where I was going with this, Rikuo."

Rikuo who still had his back to Nurarihyon, cocked his head to the side so that he was hiding his face, "...Sorry, Gramps."

Clearing his throat, Nurarihyon proceeded from where he had left off, "Yohime was just a normal human. It was destined she wouldn't live nearly as long as any of the yokai in our clan. She passed away long before you were born, Rikuo."

"I know." Was all the boy responded.

Nurarihyon's eyes glimmered a little for a brief second as he thought back to the woman he loved, "Think about this, Rikuo. The woman I loved from the very first time I saw her; the same woman I was willing to give my life for in the battle against Hagaromo Gitsune's incarnation 400 years ago. The mother of my son, your Father; and the same person I spent the better part of 90 years with...died before my eyes from old age and I could do nothing about it in the end. I'm a yokai, the leader of this clan, and the only thing I could do while Yohime's life slowly faded away back then was watch."

Rikuo flinched, realizing now why Nurarihyon had brought up Yohime. The grandson turned around and looked straight at the clan's head, "Gramps..."

"Rikuo, trust me when I say that I know what it's like to lose the person you loved more than anyone." Nurarihyon turned so that his eyes were locked with his son's child.

A specific word struck Rikuo like a jackhammer to the head.

"Loved..." The young man looked back to the cloth he still held onto. Tsurara's happy face flashed in his mind but then disappeared as fast as it appeared.

Suddenly, a loud line of knocking echoed from the other side of Rikuo's door. Nurarihyon looked to Rikuo, wondering if he had heard it. However, when the boy didn't look up, it was apparent that Rikuo had zoned out yet again.

"Coming, coming..." Nurarihyon groaned slightly as he forced himself up from his seat.

"Tsurara..." Rikuo gently ran his fingers across the light blue cloth. Memories of the girl was running through the future clan leader's head like a movie as he stared at the piece left by the Yuki Onna.

After answering the door, Nurarihyon turned back to his distracted heir, "Rikuo, I think you should go-" Rihan's father frowned hard when he realized Rikuo still wasn't listening. Instead of trying to repeat his words, Nurarihyon strolled over to the boy and smacked a hand into Rikuo's left cheek. The figure still standing in the doorway covered their mouth, surprised.

"Ow!" Moaned Rikuo who's attention had been fully brought back.

The boy shot a moody glare at his grandfather, "What the hell was that for, old man?"

"Kejoro has something to tell you, boy. Snap out of your depression for a few seconds and listen, will you?"

Rikuo looked to where the Supreme Commander pointed and nodded at the busty woman who had quietly entered his room. Walking over to the woman, Rikuo tried to hid the guilt in his face with a failed attempt at a fake smile.

"What is it? You're not one to usually come to my room..."

Kejoro took hold of her Master's arm and began pulling out of his room impatiently, "Forgive me, Master, but I was told to come get you and take you to Zen. It's very important."

Rikuo felt his heart sink even further into his stomach, "Zen, huh? It must be questions about Tsurara's death..."

Knowing he had no choice, the grandson bid goodbye to Nurarihyon and followed the beautiful woman to their destination. Without a few minutes of speedy walking, the two had gotten to the outside of Zen's room, where he was standing against a wall, arms crossed and face more emotional than Rikuo had ever seen it in all the years he had known his sworn brother.

"Finally! Kejoro, what took you? I told you to bring him here as fast as you could!"

Kejoro made a face at the loud Zen, "I'm sorry for running late but I didn't know where the Master was right away. I had to search a bit." The woman ran fingers through her long locks, frowning along with Rikuo, "Besides, why is this so important? Hasn't the Master hurt enough after what's happened. Why must you order him here so you can ask questions about the girl's death."

Zen's glare intensified at the woman's words. Sighing, he turned his full attention to Rikuo. Placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, he pushed him in front of the door of his room,

"Rikuo, I had an extra look at Tsurara's body when you and the others got home this evening."

Rikuo's eyes went blank like before at the mention of the fallen Yuki Onna, "Did you now...? I don't see why you would bother, Zen..."

The poisonous bird yokai scowled as he felt his blood pressure rise again, "You should be glad I bothered to, you idiot."

Rikuo turned so that he was partially looking at Zen, "Why is that...?"

"Tch." Suddenly, Zen slid open the door to his room. Inside was pitch black and quiet as could be.

Rikuo and Kejoro said nothing and looked at their fellow yokai as if he'd finally lost it. Zen noticed and pushed his way into his room. Though it was dark, Rikuo caught sight of something beside where Zen was standing. Of course he couldn't tell what it was from where he was standing.

The hot-tempered man snorted and pulled on the object beside him. In a second, the room lit up brightly. Rikuo's eyes flinched slightly before the miserable look returned to his face.

"Zen, would you just explain to me why I'm-" Rikuo's voice stopped when Zen stepped to the side, revealing something laying in Zen's bed that had been behind him.

A loud gasp escaped Kejoro as she fell backwards into a pillar. Leaning on the wood, the woman began shedding tears of disbelief.

Rikuo's eyes slowly widened madly as he focused on the object of his confusion and shock. Zen simply stood to the side, eyes shut, frowning.

The distraught third heir slowly walked into Zen's bedroom, not giving any care to anything else. Stopping at the futon, Rikuo fell to his knees. He reached out to touch the object but stopped when he felt the familiar cool temperature radiating off of it. To add to that, Rikuo noticed an icy breath escaping from it's lips.

As the Nura son's eyes began to water, he managed to choke out the question he needed an answer to, "How...?"

"When you guys brought her body back here, I was told to clean her up and treat the burns she had, so her body would be all ready for the funeral we would have. I was going to do that but right before I tried to, I got a weird feeling about something you guys had said about her death. Kurotabou had said Tsurara hadn't melted completely away because of the rain cooling down the body temperature. So, I decided to try something..." Zen walked over so that he was standing on the opposite side of the bed.

Rikuo looked up at Zen, still in utter amazement, "Something?"

The handsome yokai leaned down and lifted the blanket from his bed, revealing Tsurara's body. Bandages were wrapped around her bare arms and legs. Rikuo became even more confused at this.

"Wait...how does she have her right arm and leg? In the fire, they looked like they had completely melted..." Rikuo looked to Zen who smirked proudly in return,

"Her right half wasn't gone. It was barely solid anymore, but it was there. You couldn't tell at the time, since her entire body seemed to be melting away."

Rikuo shook his head, still unable to understand, "But...I don't get it. How did you know she was alive when even Kuro, Ao, and I...?"

"When Kurotabou said her body had stopped melting away, I wondered...What would happen if I tried to return the ice cold temperature her body had before she went into that fire? So out of chance, I put her body in as much ice as I could find. And sure enough, her body returned to the cool temperature a Yuki Onna survives on. After that, her heart restarted again and her breathing returned."

Jumping into the conversation, Kejoro ran to the end of the bed, "Bu-But I don't understand! She should have died...N-Not that I'm not happy but-"

"Yuki Onna are not like humans or regular yokai. When a Yuki Onna dies, she melts completely away. However, if part of her body is left when she is dying, she can be saved if a cool body temperature is sustained quickly enough." The poisonous yokai turned his back to Rikuo and recrossed his arms, "You could call this a miracle, I guess. The realty is, Tsurara should have melted completely away before you guys brought her back. Honestly, I'm not sure how she didn't. Even with the rain, Yuki Onna still should have..."

"A miracle...?" Kejoro sobbed, wiping her wet eyes with the sleeve of her kimono.

Grasping one of Tsurara's bandaged hands with his own, Rikuo rested his face against the skin of the ice woman's neck as he shed a few tears of his own.

Zen looked from Rikuo then to Kejoro. Before she had a chance to fight back, Kejoro was being dragged out of the room with Rikuo's brother figure.

"Let's leave the two love birds alone for a while. We should go tell everyone else the news, okay?"

Kejoro simply sniffled and nodded at Zen as they left the room, closing the door behind them.

Rikuo lifted his head and let out an embarrassed chuckle, "I'm such an idiot. I gave up on you but Zen didn't. He was willing to try anything to save you. Some Master I am, huh, Tsurara?"

"Ma...ster?"

Rikuo jumped in his seat when he noticed that Yuki Onna's eyes had fluttered open and she was groggily looking at him.

"Oh, hey. Did I wake you?" Sorry, I just-"

"No, you didn't. I heard you and Zen so..." Tsurara groaned slightly, feeling the pain that was still flowing through her body, "Damn...What happened to me?"

"You...ran into a fire and nearly died."

Tsurara blinked, recalling the memories. Her yellow orbs locked with Rikuo's crimson ones, "That's right. How did I not...?"

"I'm not sure myself, actually. You might have if Zen hadn't done what he did when we brought you back to the clan house."

The snow spirit nodded and touched the ice pack that was resting on her head. She let out a thankful smile, loving the coolness she felt. The room went silent and awkward for a good few minutes, making Tsurara uncomfortable. The girl turned to say something but stopped when she noticed Rikuo staring at her in a daze.

"M-Master...?"

Acting as if he hadn't heard her, Rikuo continued to stare. Tsurara blushed when she noticed just had intense Rikuo's stare was becoming. She never liked people staring at her, especially her Master.

"Umm..."

"I'm sorry, Tsurara." Was all Rikuo said as he carefully ran his fingers down Tsurara's jawline.

The long-time servant of Rikuo immediately sat up in the bed with a very disagreeable look on her face, "YOU'RE sorry?! I'm the only who should apologize...I couldn't protect..."

"You almost died due to that fire. No matter what anyone says, I can't forgive myself for putting you through that."

Tsurara's expression saddened, now feeling guilty herself, "Master..."

"Even so," Rikuo ceased stroking the yokai's jawline and cupped her cheek lovingly, "I'm so relieved you're still alive, Tsurara."

Ice tears formed in the corners of the demon's eyes as she touched the hand holding her face. Sniffling back the tears before they had the chance to fall, Tsurara smiled brightly at Rikuo, instantly making his heart skip a beat.

"I'm glad I am too. So that I can keep protecting you."

There was a slight pause in the air before Rikuo blushed slightly and smiled more warmly than he ever had. Tsurara's heart skipped a beat of her own and she covered her face a little with her sleeve.

The couple stared at each other a moment before the two both leaned in for a quick embrace. Tsurara held back an excited giggle as she buried her face into Rikuo's uncovered chest. In return, the future Nura clan leader hugged Tsurara tighter, hoping the moment would be forever burned into his memory. However, Rikuo noticed something about the feeling of Tsurara's face resting against his chest and suddenly pulled her out of the hug,

"Tsurara, don't you feel warm? Being against this heavy kimono of mine, my body has to feel really hot to you..."

The Yuki Onna titled her head a little, blinking. After a moment, the excited giggle she had tried to hold in escaped and Tsurara threw herself back into her Master's arms,

"Don't worry about it, Master Rikuo. This is the one kind of warmth that won't kill me."

Rikuo's cheeks darkened a more intense red, "If you say so..."

With that said, Rikuo returned to hugging the beloved ice yokai that had been saved by a chance of nature.

There was only one natural enemy of the ice yokai known as a Yuki Onna, and that was heat. Just like the delicate snow they represented, they would melt in an instance if they came into contact with it. However, in this situation, Tsurara didn't hate the intensifying heat she felt nor did she mind the feeling she had as she melted in the arms of her kind Master Rikuo Nura.

* * *

_**Author Comments: Okay, this had to be the HARDEST one-shot I ever wrote. I got writer's block so many times and I just don't feel like this came out as good as it could have. It's also the longest one-shot I've wrote too, I believe.**_

_**I know I'm gonna get a lot of hell in the reviews for how inaccurate, OOC, and just plain lame this fic is. I highly doubt it will even be half as popular as my last Nura:Rise of the Yokai Clan fic was. Im pretty sure this fic is pretty inaccurate and screwy with Tsurara's convenient survival and Zen's B.S. story about how Yuki Onna don't die if they don't totally melt. I know that probably isn't how it would really be if it happened in the series. But I had so much damned trouble with writing the ending of this fic, that I just put what I thought made some sense. I'm very sorry writing something that people will probably not like nor think makes any sense. But I wasn't going to kill Tsurara off. I wasn't going to totally copy the whole idea from that manga I read and just make Tsurara lose her life like that. Part of the reason because I adore Tsurara. Still, I apologize to those who probably disliked this. My writing has indeed become very lax and disappointing lately. Again, I am sorry.  
**_

_**I do hope some enjoyed this fic, even if only a little. I don't know if I'll write another one-shot about this series again. The only other fic I plan and want to write for this series is the one I mentioned above the start of the story. We'll see what happens. **_


End file.
